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For those who dared to work in the fields during a hot day, a cloud of swirling dust may appear and out of it a raven-haired woman, dressed in white, may have stepped forth. Seeing this tall women wasn't an occasion for celebration, though. In this article we'll explore who this enigmatic individual, from Slavic folklore, really is.
Lady Midday: The Assailant at Noon
During summer, Lady Midday hides in the woods and fields while she observes humans from afar. She waits and bides her time because she knows the hot midday sun would take its toll on labourers in the fields. The moment a person feels dizzy, she comes out of hiding so as to confront humans.
Lady Midday takes the form of a beautiful woman, although that is only done so as to set her quarry at ease, for she is in actual fact grotesque under that facade. Face-to-face with a human, she asks difficult questions and if the answers aren't satisfactory, or they didn't answer at all, she will give a person heatstroke or cut their head off with a scythe. Lady Midday is perhaps a personification of mirages and of heatstroke, created when people needed an explanation for the deadly nature of harvesting under a fierce midday sun.
This fearsome being's reach didn't end with afflicting labourers with maladies. She carries large sack with her, which she filled with the children who happened to be wandering in the corn fields. This piece of folklore may also have had a specific purpose - to scare children away from valuable crops.
Working in heat has its own particular challenges, and tales regarding Lady Midday served to warn people of that danger through a vivid mythological construct. The warning of Lady Midday is something all humans should remember during summer - move to shade, hydrate and don't overexert oneself.
Thank you for reading!
For those who dared to work in the fields during a hot day, a cloud of swirling dust may appear and out of it a raven-haired woman, dressed in white, may have stepped forth. Seeing this tall women wasn't an occasion for celebration, though. In this article we'll explore who this enigmatic individual, from Slavic folklore, really is.
Lady Midday: The Assailant at Noon
During summer, Lady Midday hides in the woods and fields while she observes humans from afar. She waits and bides her time because she knows the hot midday sun would take its toll on labourers in the fields. The moment a person feels dizzy, she comes out of hiding so as to confront humans.
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| Form "A Dictionary of slavic mythology" (1996). |
Lady Midday takes the form of a beautiful woman, although that is only done so as to set her quarry at ease, for she is in actual fact grotesque under that facade. Face-to-face with a human, she asks difficult questions and if the answers aren't satisfactory, or they didn't answer at all, she will give a person heatstroke or cut their head off with a scythe. Lady Midday is perhaps a personification of mirages and of heatstroke, created when people needed an explanation for the deadly nature of harvesting under a fierce midday sun.
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| "Girl with a scythe" by William Adolphe Bouguereau. |
This fearsome being's reach didn't end with afflicting labourers with maladies. She carries large sack with her, which she filled with the children who happened to be wandering in the corn fields. This piece of folklore may also have had a specific purpose - to scare children away from valuable crops.
Working in heat has its own particular challenges, and tales regarding Lady Midday served to warn people of that danger through a vivid mythological construct. The warning of Lady Midday is something all humans should remember during summer - move to shade, hydrate and don't overexert oneself.
Thank you for reading!
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